The present invention relates generally to electronic components and, more particularly, to electronic component assemblies which include an electronic component and a heatsink, the heatsink being mounted on the electronic component to remove at least some of the heat produced by the electronic component during use.
Electronic components, such as integrated circuit (IC) chip packages, are well known and commonly used in the art to perform electronic functions. Electronic components are often manufactured in dual-in-line (DIP) leaded packages which can be through-hole or surface mounted onto the circuit board for an electronic system.
In use, electronic components, such as IC chip packages, often produce significant levels of heat which, in turn, can introduce numerous problems. For example, heat produced by an electronic component can potentially cause the electrical component to malfunction.
As a consequence, heatsinks are well known and are commonly used in the art to help remove at least some of the heat produced by electrical components during use. Heatsinks are manufactured of a highly, thermally conductive metal, such as aluminum, and are mounted on a surface of the electrical component to dissipate heat produced by the component during use. The heatsink serves to carry away heat from the electrical component by means of thermal conduction. The heatsink typically comprises a plurality of parallel fins mounted on a base and which serve to facilitate the radiation and convection of the conducted heat. Often a fan or blower will be used to help cool the parallel fins.
Heatsinks are often mounted on the surface of electronic components using a thermally conductive epoxy, such as a silicon compound. However, the use of a thermally conductive epoxy to mount a heatsink onto the surface of an electronic component is a significantly complex manufacturing procedure, which thereby increases the overall cost and complexity of manufacturing. For example, it has been found that there is a considerable level of difficulty in depositing an epoxy layer of uniform thickness between the electronic component and the heatsink. Furthermore, the heatsink and the electronic component must be pressed together with a certain amount of pressure for a certain amount of time in a certain orientation, which further increases the complexity of manufacturing.
Heatsinks have also been mounted on the surface of electronic components using an elongated, generally C-shaped, spring-biased metal clip, the clip having a first end, a second end and a central member between the two ends. Each end is shaped to include a mounting hole. In use, the mounting hole at the first end of the spring biased metal clip is lockably engaged onto a finger at one side of a socket on which the electronic component is mounted. The central member of the spring clip extends longitudinally over the parallel fins and the mounting hole at the second end is lockably engaged to a finger on an opposite side of the socket on which the electronic component is mounted. As such, the central member of the clip applies a downward pressure onto the heatsink, thereby forcing the heatsink down against the electronic component, as desired.
However, it should be noted that the use of a spring-biased metal clip as described above creates a significant drawback. Specifically, the bowed configuration of the spring-biased clip causes a significant portion of the central member of the clip to protrude significantly above the top surface of the heatsink. Because the heatsink is often being used in an electronic system of limited size, the use of spring-biased clips therefore requires the overall size of the electronic system to be increased, which is undesirable.
As a consequence, it is well known in the art to remove one or more of the center fins of a heatsink to enable the spring-biased clip to lie beneath the top surface of the heatsink.
However, the removal of one or more fins of the heatsink decreases the efficiency in which the heatsink functions. Specifically, reducing the number of fins directly limits the amount of heat which is transferred from the electronic component. In addition, the removal of one or more central fins creates a wide channel through the center of the heatsink which, in turn, causes a larger percentage of cool air produced by a fan to pass through the wide center channel instead of the outer fin channels. As a consequence, the outer fins of the heatsink are inadequately cooled, which is undesirable.